Ty Law used to spend summers in Dallas with his uncle, Tony Dorsett, getting lost in daydreams. Law would sit and stare at Dorsett’s Heisman Trophy. His Hall of Fame bust. His life that proved to Law those dreams can come true.
“He walked the same streets that I did, so why can't I? Why not me?” Law said Tuesday. “But I knew it had to be a lot of sacrifice to get to that point. You can't just be a good athlete because Aliquippa has great athletes walking around the streets every day.”
And come Saturday, Aliquippa High School will have two graduates in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Law, 45, will get his gold jacket at this weekend’s induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio. He’ll be the first Aliquippa native to do so since his famous uncle in 1994 and first former Quips star since Mike Ditka in 1988.
"Everything that I am stems from Aliquippa."
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 2, 2019
The first stop on @OfficialTyLaw's road to Canton, OH? Aliquippa, PA pic.twitter.com/fd2vXfRVbX
Law is a WPIAL legend, a 1995 first-round draft pick at cornerback. But unlike many others in that category, he didn’t play college football at any of the local schools. No Pitt, West Virginia or even Penn State. He never played for the hometown Steelers, and in fact, he spent the bulk of his 15-year NFL career with the rival New England Patriots. That all might add up to Law not being one of the first names that come to mind when Western Pennsylvania’s best are brought up, but there’s no questioning his legacy.
“I think that’s the type of person Ty is. He just keeps his head down and handles his business,” said current Aliquippa football coach Mike Warfield, a longtime friend of Law who was five years ahead in high school.
No, Law didn’t stay in the area after a Parade All-American senior season, though he could’ve. He knew he wanted to get away from the aspects of Aliquippa that shaped him into who he became. Law needed just three seasons at Michigan to be an All-American again and declare for the NFL draft.
Thing was, there would be no tougher challenge for Law than where he’s from. Not the Big Ten, not the NFL, not the coaches. When he calls himself “an Aliquippa Quip till the day I die,” he means it in more ways than one.
“I didn't know then why I was living it,” Law said of growing up in Aliquippa amid family hardships and financial struggles. “I know now, and I can say it with confidence, college was easy. The pros, that was easy, compared to how I grew up and what I had and what I’d seen.”
While at Michigan, Law would sometimes drive the four-plus hours from Ann Arbor back to Aliquippa to check on his family, then drive right back through the night to be on campus in time for class or practice. He was intentional about removing himself from some of the influences at home, but it will always be home. Lest anyone doubt that, check out Law’s enshrinement weekend.
Law’s presenter will be his lifelong best friend, Byron “Book” Washington of Aliquippa. Adorning his Hall of Fame locker will be his old Quips jersey and helmet. In attendance will be the 2019 Aliquippa football team, which Warfield said Law requested, among plenty of others from the community.
“He’s been great coming around, helping out the program, talking to the kids,” Warfield said a few minutes after dropping off Law’s teenage son, who was visiting a Quips summer practice, at Law’s mother’s house. “He’s just been A-plus.”
Five Pro Bowls, three Lombardi trophies, 53 interceptions and one Super Bowl pick-six later, Law is always thinking back to where he was raised. He loves that a fellow Quips football alumnus is entering his second year in charge of the program Law holds near to his heart. He’s reminded even in his post-football ventures, which include the Launch Trampoline Park chain he co-founded, of the lessons he learned on Wykes Street.
Law retired in 2009, just as Darrelle Revis was bursting onto the scene and Aaron Donald was a few years away. They might be the next two WPIAL products to make it to Canton, and they garnered more of a spotlight in Pittsburgh, but Law’s credentials will be cemented in bronze forever.
“I knew early on I wasn't going to stay in Pennsylvania to play, period,” he said, noting that he once made a free-agent visit to the Steelers, but it didn't work out. “I knew I had to make a move, do something different and create my own path. So, I don't think it was overlooked at all. It was something that sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to really make a name for yourself.
“That’s what I tried to do,” Law added, then chuckled, “and I think I did OK.”
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
Do you appreciate good journalism? If you do, consider subscribing.
Support journalism. Subscribe today.
First Published: July 30, 2019, 5:57 p.m.
